Bonds
by Cyath
Summary: A battle against the mysterious 15th Angel brings all of NERV together closer than they expected.


Bonds

The 15th Angel, Raphael.

"Target has appeared approximately 15 miles north of the city. Blood type is confirmed at Blue. We have no visual fix as of yet, Commander."

"Get one. Ready air units; I want to see how it stands up to conventional fire. And alert the pilots." How did he know that this one would be different? Answer : he did not. Years of closeness breeds familiarity, though. Perhaps that was it.

"Probe has established a visual fix. Onscreen. Dr Akagi says that full analysis should be ready in 5 minutes." How interesting. Wings. It was about time one of them had actually manifested a symbol of what they were called. He allowed himself a small, bitter smile. More like demons. He let himself take in every detail of the armored figure on screen, it's two snow-white wings that spread skywards over the interlocking plates of green and black. The mask of it's face, the three slit and glowing eyes. The sheen of daylight playing of it. What was is that screamed out at him. What made him so wary of this one, so cautious, hesitant? They had defeated the worst yet, with no loss of life. Why was he so afraid?

Then he saw it, strapped, no, melded to it's back at the camera turned. A sword.

No, it couldn't be. The scrolls said so, SEELE said so. He had said so. But it was. The Harbinger.

"The AT Field...it's destroying the missiles before they even hit it! Secondary gun emplacements are targeting. Maybe if they all fire at once we'll see some results..." he let them trail off. For a moment he could almost feel a twinge of pity. They had no chance.

The blast tore through half the city.

Misato Katsuragi looked at the monitor. This was not good. This was definitely not good. Even with Unit-01 fixed from the last battle - she winced at the thought; NERV had almost been destroyed then - she seriously doubted the feasibility of sending it against this thing. Readouts also indicated a body construction at least equal in strength and durability to Unit-01's, which put it far ahead of any Angels she'd seen so far, and according to Ritsuko's preliminary reports, it's AT Field was easily as strong as Ramiel's, and further analysis showed that the wave pattern of the field could also be manipulated, accounting for the blast. She winced again. Car repayments were not cheap.

Still, there was hope. The field could be penetrated, theoretically, by either the positron rifle, ultrasonic at a particular frequency (she dimly remembered the weapons division working on something of that nature) or another AT Field as strong. The first 2 were last-ditch chances at best, with the rifle now being studied in America and the new progressive weapons barely on the drawing board. Which meant Unit-01. And Shinji.

She didn't want to see him hurt. He almost...he almost died up there the other time. He shouldn't have to fight these things, should be able to live a normal life. That was her responsibility, and his father's.

On a sudden impulse, she looked up at the Commander's face. Implacable as always. She wondered if he actually worried for his son. You wouldn't think it from the way he sat there, hands folded over each other, staring into space. You could only wonder. Then she returned her attention to the screen and the data that was fast piling up. If there was some way to beat this thing, she would find it. For him.

"Shinji-kun...Good luck."

Maya Ibuki's hands hurt. But if the sempai said the data had to be gotten in fast, it got in fast. A few last keystrokes and she hit the compilation key. She gasped as the screen filled. If this was correct...she caught Shigeru's glance, and then a few moments later, Makoto's sigh.

They turned as one to the Doctor. She was lost in thought, still staring. Thinking.

The young, black-haired tech breathed a mental sigh of relief. Akagi-sempai would know what to do. Surely with the best of the world's technology behind them, they'd beat the latest Angel. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shigeru turn back to the console, Makoto answer a question for the Commander. She looked for one second more and returned to work. It did not look good, though. According to the data, and MAGI estimates, there was only a 5.6% to 11.2% that the three Units, even combined, could defeat Raphael. Factoring in 01's sai-kidou, the highest probability was 21.3%. Not good odds with the fate of the world at stake.

Someone touched her on the shoulder. "Nothing." Akagi-sempai. And she didn't look at all hopeful.

She had to ask, though. "Akagi-sama, a modification on the Thereson equation? Or perhaps inversion of Nakagiri's postulates, those might work..." she was shaking her head before the words came out. "Ibuki-san, only under lab conditions would those work. No, there's nothing we can do."

"Then it's...over?" A trace of the old smile came back into her eyes, the blond hair looking for a moment more lively. "Not over. We all know Katsuragi-ichii works best under stress."

Science had done all it could. Now was the time for miracles.

Unit-01, rising up before him. The head, with it's yellow, baleful eyes and teeth, bloodstained teeth. He always saw the head first, even in his dreams. At his side he could hear Asuka complaining. Something about not being the first to go up; ever since attaining a synchro rate higher than her's, he'd never heard the last of it. Rei standing to the left, staring at the EVA's as well.

He'd eaten the last Angel. Eaten it.

The bile threatened to rise in his stomach again, and he forced it down. But the memories returned. His eye. Screaming in rage, fear and pain until all of them had blended into a miasma of suffering. Being swallowed into another realm. Blows raining down on him, blasts slamming into him. He looked at Asuka again. She could have it all. He wouldn't be the least bit envious.

His hand brushed Rei's as the lift came to a stop. Amazingly, the Second hadn't noticed this, and he took the opportunity to squeeze the thin, pale skin, and felt an answering clench of the muscles. They shared a brief, unspoken glance before they broke contact. That didn't stop him from thinking all the way to the changing room. There was meaning in those red orbs. He just had to find it.

"Hey, baka! What're you thinking about?"

Rei? Yes. The EVA's? Yes. Myself? Yes. The thoughts swirled and spun in his brain, chasing each other, running into a mass of blinding, changing color. For a moment he was already inside the EVA, the startup procedure initiated, LCL flooding him. Drowning him. A flash of recollection. The head, gazing at him. Teeth. He wondered how he could ever have been proud of this.

For his father? Or for himself? For others? (What others, his mind seemed to say) It didn't matter, because...

"We're going to die." Silence.

That earned him a sharp whap on the back of his head. "Of all the things to say...well, Mr 60% synchro ratio, you can go out there and present a nice target while I beat the stuffing out of it. What makes you think..." He looked helplessly back at the angry auburn-haired Child. How could he explain it? The feeling? He sought Rei's eyes again and caught the same flash of emotion as before.

He turned his head away suddenly. Enough. He couldn't take it anymore. Let them send him up, he didn't care. A touch upon his wrist and the plugsuit hissed around him, molding itself to his shape while he studiously ignored Asuka's insults. Rei was already gone. He sighed and got up; it would be a long and tiring walk to the launching area.

It was. Actually, it was, "what a coward", "you could at least try", and "why such an idiot was picked is beyond me" and countless others. He hung his head and endured it in silence. One foot in front of the other; walk. Next foot; walk. He was reminded of the first time he got into the EVA, this was the same, except he was going to die now.

His reverie was broken rudely by a shove into the wall. Asuka was straight-arming him, staring intently into his eyes. There was something in her eyes; the same thing as Rei's? No. "What's wrong with you, Shinji? You're spacing out even more than normal." Was there concern in that voice? He was brought back to reality sharply; what was he thinking, Asuka concerned? That was anger. He shook his head mutely and resumed walking, leaving a very puzzled 14-year old behind. Rei was up ahead. He could ask her why he felt this way.

"Baka Shinji. Baka Shinji." It became almost a chant as Sohryuu Asuka Langley walked to the launch bays. Mr. High-synchro-but-will-die-anyway was up ahead with the doll, not even talking, just side by side. She supposed even morons had to get their kicks somehow.

But he wasn't that bad, was he? At least he spoke, unlike Rei. At least he wasn't a total klutz in combat (although she had wondered about THAT a couple of times). He deserved credit, she supposed, (although she certainly didn't need to be the one who gave it) for beating quite a few Angels; not that she would have done badly if they'd just let her go up against them. And he had saved her, once.

What was she thinking? For a moment, the old pain seared, and she quickly sought refuge in her litany. Shinji was shy, and idiotic, not worthy to lick the mud off her feet and other such heartening thoughts. There was a concession made to her conscience, though.

"Hey, idiot!" He turned around, and she marveled how someone could look SO utterly blank. "Good luck and try to not get killed up there!". No response…Oh well, the things she put up with…

Ikari-kun.

He is in danger. I know this.

Why? How? I cease to ponder the eternal questions and instead look deep into his eyes. I hope he can sense what I need so desperately to tell him.

He cannot. He stares back, uncertain, innocent. Yet he is the one, I know this in my heart. I yearn to tell him, to protect him.

But I cannot. And he does not know.

I can only hope. Hope that he survives and comes back…comes back to me.

Kozo Fuyutsuki stared gravely at the screen with his Commander. This was bad. More than apparent from the way his superior's hands flexed and tapped incessantly on the table they were perched on. He'd only seen Gendou do that once, and that was just before the 2nd Impact.

Before him, he saw the launch procedures starting up, the techs scurrying around like so many small ants over the hulking forms of the EVAs. It was too bad the Positronic Sword wasn't finished in time; it would have been a useful weapon, even if the arc accentuators could only be fitted to Unit-01. Too late now. He let his gaze wander over the room, noting, as always, everything, from Ritsuko's and the techs worried expressions to the fiercely protective glance of the Major towards the screen. So, she was worried about Shinji-kun again. He'd never thought someone like that could be maternal.

A faint memory of Yui stirred, and he was surprised at the vehemence with which he had to brush it away. He hadn't forgotten, it seemed, his best student. She could have changed mankind, DID change mankind, he reminded himself, but now she was gone. And only her son remained. For a moment he felt another twinge of regret for the boy as well. He would have been so happy with her. One have only to remember the looks they shared the fateful day he'd come to NERV.

Her son. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gendou continue to stare at the screen, as implacable as always. What did he think of Shinji, his son as well? No one would know. He doubted that even Yui did.

The boy would need all the help he could get, he thought, looking at the Harbinger tear the latest wave of attacking ships to bits. He muttered a silent prayer and continued to stare. Let him come back alive, if only to let the Project continue. Fleetingly, he saw Yui again, and wondered if the possibly imminent destruction of his life's work brought back the memory of her. No matter.

Good luck, Shinji-kun. You'll need it.

He relaxed and let the fluids engulf him. It was so soothing, so warm, so…forgiving. Not for the first time, he thought that it felt so much like sleeping, But sleeping somewhere else, somewhen.

"Synchronization process started. Stage 1."

Here it was. The critical point. The world shifted and changed around him, colors blurring and fusing into each other, a kaleidoscope of flickering lights that spun and whirled. He prepared himself, waiting, expectant for the moment that he knew was upon him but never could pinpoint.

There. A rush of emotion, and it was past. No matter how many times he experienced it, the actual feeling always evaded him. It was fleeting, involuntary, almost like a cough or reflex action. He pushed back ever so slightly against his seat, body tingling from the aftermath of near-full synchronization. A distant part of his mind reminded him of something…but he pushed it away.

 _"Born to pilot Evangelion…"_ The display next to him flashed, and he sighed. The numbers seemed to mock him. 89.3%. A jump of at least 15 percent. He forced himself to forget he had achieved much higher. Much, much, higher.

 _Fear. Hunger. Rage. Pain. Fear. Pain. Rage. Pain. Pain. Pain._

 _Fear._

He'd eaten the Angel. Eaten it.

He concentrated his attention fully on the displays, straining to feel every flexing of his right hand, every word that Maya spoke in his head, every single muscle tensing, anything to get his mind off what he was thinking. Feeling.

 _Fear. Fear. Pain. Pain. Rage._

 _Rage, rage, rage rage hunger hunger hunger rage hunger fear pain rage hunger ragehungerpainfearrageragehungerpainfwaragehunegrhuhungerragegungerragehunger_

 _A flash of…_

"Shinji. Shinji!" He realized that he had stopped breathing. Exhaling forcefully, he saw Misato's worried face gazing at him. He gave a weak smile in return. "H, hai, Misato-san." It sounded feeble even to himself.

He thought he heard Asuka snigger.

"Shinji-kun, listen up. This Angel's AT Field is stronger than anything we're seen" Misato was worried? Why? He was going to die anyway. "So you're going to have to take point. Units 2 and 0 will back you up when…" that particular word sounded weaker "…when you get through. Okay?"

Asuka popped up in the lower corner of the display. "C'mon, let me at least attack as well! Two AT Fields have got to be better than one…" he tuned out her prattle.

 _Fear. Rage. Pain._

 _The sensation of swallowing, blood running hot down his throat, the animal fangs tearing into inhuman flesh, and the so, so human thoughts, the infuriatingly rational…_

"Rei." He mouthed the word without thinking, but as if by telepathy, she heard. A second later, her image flashed into existence above Asuka's. Somehow, he wasn't surprised she was on a closed channel. Her eyes seemed to speak to him again, and this time he knew what they meant, only to have the knowledge dissipate just as he reached out for it.

"Shinji." He nodded soundlessly. Her voice was so soft, almost like she was afraid to speak. He caught the something in her eyes against in her quiet whisper. "Good luck." Asuka and Misato were still arguing, but he noted that Misato's face seemed…strained.

"She cares. Cares for me." The thought struck like a thunderbolt, and he sat, oblivious to everything besides the slow countdown to launch.

"Synchronization procedures complete. Ready for launch."

Misato was staring straight at the screen. "HASHIN!"

 _"Shinji. I am with you."_ He looked wildly about but saw no one. And then he was rushing towards the surface, towards his destiny.

The 15th looked forwards, ignoring the mangled remains of NERV craft, strewn upon the ground like so much carrion on the broken ground. It's quarry was near, and that was all that mattered. Huge wings shifted, spreading wider as the Harbinger seemed to anticipate the arrival of the Evangelion. Staff all around NERV gasped as it's steel-grey eyes blazed, turning a dark, burning black. Something told them all that this was no ordinary fight. It was Angel against Human, yes, but something more was hanging in the balance this time.

Misato clutched her cross and to the amazement of herself and everyone looking on, prayed for the first time in her life.

The Harbinger turned to see Unit-01 appear behind, already rushing to the attack. The massive sword was out in a moment, and battle was joined between Angel and Evangelion as fists of deep purple slammed against green armor. A second later, Harbinger's blade cut deep into the Unit in retaliation. LCL began to slow leak to the ground, but the EVA showed no signs of injury besides that.

A growl of rage from one of the two titans, and AT Fields sprang into existence around both combatants, the EVA's a patchwork of static and rigid hexagons, the Angel's a strangely flowing web of sorts. Slowly, it stepped forward, sword held at the ready. It's opponent crouched, hands poised to deal with any attack.

Then the ground exploded beneath them.

"Masaka…" Ritsuko couldn't believe what she saw. Even taking into account the new parameters, they was simply no way an Angel's AT Field could be that powerful. That…flexible, for lack of a better word. At least 50% stronger than Ramiel's had been, with the ability to affect the surrounding area through conscious manipulation of energy…power of this degree should have been creating a distortion of some kind in reality!

It wasn't. NERV around her seemed the usual bustle of activity it always was in the midst of an Angel attack. Reports read out, damage assessment, synch levels…

Synch levels. So that was what Maya had been saying a second ago. Synch…

Ritsuko Akagi liked to think that she was not easily surprised. She wasn't. Still, she couldn't suppress a gasp of surprise, no, shock when she glanced at the display panel.

"It can't be…the boy'll die in there, so close to peak so soon…" Only she knew the hidden dangers of being so close to the EVA Unit. She and a few chosen others. They could not risk such a high synch rate…it could mean…disaster.

212% and climbing…

 _Pain. Rage, Rage, rage, fear ragepainfearragerageagearfe…_

NO!

Inside Evangelion Unit 1, a boy named Shinji Ikari struggled for control of his soul. The LCL around him seemed strange, oppressive, as if it was trying to smother him, seep through the flimsy layer of cloth surrounding his body and merge with it. He couldn't let that happen; and didn't stop to think why, why he drew instinctively away from it. He fought uselessly, futilely, against the heightening feeling of synchronization, the way his skin felt as it touched the open air, except that he wasn't supposed to feel the open air in here he was in the cockpit not…

 _The sensation of food. Raw, hot, flesh sliding down his throat, juices flowing into his mouth._

His muscles clenched, eyes dilated. No change. Still the eerie submergence, forcing it's way into his consciousness.

A sword. He saw come down in a swift, savage arc, and he darted away. _Rage. Fear. Rage._

 _No, more than rage. Need. The need for revenge._

Jump away, concentrate. Aim, strike. His fist, no, the EVA's flew forward only to slam into the glowing barrier surrounding the Angel. _Revenge._ He would destroy it! He snarled in rage as he stepped forward, his own AT Field expanding and intensifying in response to his…

 _No, not his. The EVA's! IT WASN'T HIM!_

 _Need. Rage. Revenge. Rage._ He barely managed to avoid the next slash and tumbled headfirst into a building, demolishing the structure entirely as he scrambled to get away from the Angel's swift and all too accurate attacks. In his head, he was dimly aware of Misato screaming something at him, but he couldn't concentrate, he had to strike back, no he didn't

 _Rage._

A howl of agony as the blade bit into his flesh, and he threw reason to the winds, rushing forwards, hands tearing, ripping, at the interlocking armor of the Angel. He tried a final time to stop and…

 _Revenge._

He couldn't take it. Fighting two battles at the same time, the boy's stamina snapped and he screamed as the mergence took him in it's soothing, comforting embrace. He heard voices, sounds. Then nothing.

Blackness, for a time. The sensation of people. Other people, near him, speaking to him, telling him something. But he couldn't make them out. They were too far away, too distant, too different.

Suddenly he was alone, in a room with terribly, high, high, walls. And then reality of a sort intervened.

He suddenly remembered Rei's eyes. They were telling him something. Saying something.

"I'll protect you."

Would she?

"Send up Units 00 and 02." He was amazed at the coolness of his voice. It should have been cracking right about now; seeing his hopes and dreams tumble into dust before him. Still, he was too used to it. The same bland, almost icy tone of it; it grew on you. Made it easier to hide emotion.

Who would win. That was the question being played out in front of him. His son, or the Harbinger. Probably the latter. It was stronger.

He wondered who they truly were. One of flesh and one of something more. Both of them.

His son. His own flesh and blood, out there. Fighting, possibly dying. Possibly being killed this very moment. What would his wife think? Of him? Or Shinji?

He did not ponder the question further. There was no need.

 _"Shin-chan."_ A voice, gentle, soft…familiar. Strong. The blackness began to recede, replaced by warmth. A kind, soothing warmth, not the…savage…heat that had engulfed him moments before. But they were still alike. How he could not say. But it calmed him somewhat, and to his amazement, he felt no fear for the first time in ages. Only the soft, warm, embrace of unseen hands.

 _"I'll protect you…"_ Wasn't Rei supposed to say that? Do that?

He was back in the room all of a sudden, but there was a door. He walked to it, marveling at how white, how bleak the walls of it looked. He tried the door. It turned with a dull click and he pushed. Locked.

 _Still locked._

And then he opened his eyes.

Ikari-kun is hurt. He needs me.

I see the cut and slashed body of his Unit on the ground, LCL leaking like blood from it. Maybe they are alike. The blood and fluids from Lilith, and the Unit and him. Both. So many dualities, as in nature. Male and female, good and evil. She and I.

But his mother is with him. She will help. We will.

I wonder if he knows what I meant with my eyes. I think he does.

The battle was not faring well for Unit-01. After the sudden cry it made and subsequent sprawl into the ground, the Angel had seized the upper hand, using it's sword with deadly efficiency and pinning it's adversary down. EVA-01 was already bleeding from various wounds, and it's previously high (Ritsuko said dangerous) AT Field and synchro ratios were fluctuating wildly.

In Misato's eyes, things were not going well at all. Especially with Shin-chan up there. She narrowed her eyes, focussing her gaze at the winged monstrosity that was now delivering another blow to Unit-01. Thankfully, it glanced off the single arm the EVA brought up to block the strike. But that was only one attack…

Fighting. That was it. Unit-01 seemed to be fighting…itself, as well. She knew next to nothing about the strange workings that went on inside each Evangelion, but from Ritsuko's harried and frenzied reports, as well as her own eyes, she could see that Shinji was winning the mental battle, if not the physical one. The unit stumbled away, not exactly getting up, but managing to fend off the next strike as well. If only she could buy him more time…Her hand gripped the cross, the cool metal edges biting into her hand. No miracles to be had. Only backup.

"Asuka, Rei! Get into position. Try conventional fire, then move into melee range if there's no result." She glanced at the white-coated doctor and shrugged. Risk won battles; she had no time to ask for verification now. "If possible, get near to the Angel…your combined AT Fields should do something about it's own." There. That was all she could do. She barely heard Rei's whispered affirmation and Asuka's cocky, loud one. She was watching the battle again, scrutinizing each blow exchanged, attack evaded, as if her life depended on it. It didn't.

But someone else's did. Someone she cared about very much.

The idiot had gotten himself into another scrape. Trust him to rush headlong into combat and make a fool of himself; it looked like SHE would have to do something about it. As usual. And for once, Doll Girl had the same orders she did.

Sighing in exasperation, she leveled the Palette Rifle at the shifting field of orange energy around both battling titans. A part of her noted that the field has somehow managed to expand, encompassing both EVA and Angel it itself, but she put that thought aside. Now if he'd just gotten a decent weapon BEFORE rushing in, instead of just that puny Knife…she let loose with a round of rapid fire. And again. And again. Beside her, Doll Girl was doing the same thing with a machine gun. She grinned as she saw the barrage of shots hit the field. Things would be cleaned up in a second, and then she'd go back and…

She blinked. Nothing. No change whatsoever, not only was the field unaffected; the combatants didn't even seem to notice the blasts. Orders were orders though, and besides, she'd get a chance at the action now. She keyed Rei on the intercom, missing the strange look the albino pilot gave her in her excitement. "Hey, Doll Girl, get over there!"

Trust baka Shinji to mess things up again, she thought as her Unit and 00 broke into a swift run towards the battleground. At least she was here now…

The pain was gone, leaving only iron resolution in it's wake. There was someone with him, too, someone familiar, but most of all, someone strong. Because strength was what he needed now. For a moment, there was also a faint sensation of something breaking at his back. But he was in the here and now.

With a cry of rage that was all his own, he struck the Angel across the chest, the EVA rearing up from the ground to rain more blows upon the green-armored figure. A fist to the groin sent it reeling back, and he rushed forward to press his sudden advantage. Around him, he could feel the pulsing of his own AT Field as it struggled against the Angel's own stronger one.

Second wind, yes, but the fight was far from over. He had to duck the next few slashes and even then, the sword scored several glancing wounds on his neck and body as he attempted to gain a better position. Finally, a missed thrust gave him the opening he needed, and he crashed both hands down on the Angel's unprotected neck. It stumbled, but soon got up again, warding off his advances with it's blade. A weapon. Almost instinctively, he reached up, the shoulder of his Unit opening with a hiss to drop the Progressive Knife into his palm. Not ideal, but sufficient.

 _"Shinji Ikari."_ He almost dropped the knife, but retained his battle-ready position. Who…the Angel…it was speaking to him! The voice…unmistakably that of an Angel.

Wait. How did he know what an Angel sounded like? If anything, it had sounded like the voices in the Sea of Dirac, and the one just now…his shook his head in denial. No, it couldn't be.

 _"Shinji Ikari."_ It was _. "Humanity is strange, is it not? You all hide behind a veneer of civilization, but inside you still are the primal beast. Show us. Show us your worth"._

And then it sprung forwards, it's blade a blazing arc as it tore a bloody furrow across his chest. He could vaguely feel himself screaming in pain, lashing out instinctively and catching the Angel by luck, pushing it back.

 _Fear. Pain._

He didn't care anymore, not for the Angel's words, not for his safety, not for anything. He would kill it. His eyes narrowed, and the killing haze came down over them. Revenge, it spoke to him. Rage. The twin AT fields around them began to coalesce into one whole, orange melting into red to form a blazing white.

The Angel's eyes glowed again as it advanced forward. The fight had begun in earnest.

She had watched in growing horror as the Harbinger's blade ripped into Unit-1 several times, ending with the final savage stroke across it's body. Finally, she saw Asuka and Rei emerge from a fallen buildings, both mechas still running towards the battlefield. A few quick, shouted commands and their course was set.

Both were now about 20 meters away, adequate range for what she was about to try. Good. Her mouth was dry, parched even, as she looked at Units 00 and 02 settle into position. It was a gamble, was they were about to do, a desperate one, but the best chance they had. She flicked a damp strand of purple hair back as she spared one glance for a colleague and was gratified to see a wink in reply. At least she had Ritsuko's okay on this that meant it wasn't total foolishness. She gave one back in return, hoping no one saw the drop of moisture that hit the ground.

In theory, according to Ritsuko, the Angel's AT Field seemed to be affected by Shinji's, and vice versa. Running more diagnostics had revealed that the Angel possessed not one but two AT Fields, both highly susceptible to wave penetration, in layman's terms, other AT Fields. Which meant Asuka and Rei. And Shinji, as well, although the comm system had gone dead when the fight started.

Shin-chan. Be alright.

"Rei! Asuka! Deploy AT Fields at full strength!" A second later, the twin shimmering fields of orange-red manifested around both Units. The effect was almost immediate. The Harbinger buckled at it's knees, the faint outline of red around it melting away to leave only the white blaze of energy surrounding both the EVA and Angel. It paid dearly for it's stumble as a Progressive Knife came down, a single savage stroke, to cleave one wing away. A triumphant roar rang out as the EVA reared it's head back in victory.

A startled cry came from another console, but she couldn't be bothered with it. Not now.

Misato blinked. Not again. This couldn't be happening.

Bloodstains smeared the EVA's mouth as it swallowed a final gulp of bloody feathers, eyes glowing like the fallen Angel's. Then it began to change. Warp.

Inside, a boy screamed in impotent fury as he lost his battle.

The staff of NERV looked on in horror as a single black leathery wing burst forth from Evangelion Unit 1's back.

He no longer knew what was right or wrong. Pain and fear had long since lost their meaning; he was fighting a battle beyond mere human extremes, where such emotions held no substance. What remained was the rage.

He felt the walls in the room splinter somewhere, raining knife-sharp shards into his very being, their pain causing a strange kind of realization to come to him,. He saw Rei's eyes.

No, not the rage. Something else.

He could remember biting into the wing, the hateful feel of hot liquid flowing down his throat, inflaming him to new heights of fury and anger. But that wasn't him. No, he would fight against that , against the EVA…but then, who was he? He was fighting against himself, then, wasn't he? They were joined.

 _No, Shinji._ That voice, the Angel's voice. But somehow this one seemed kinder than what any of them should have. It sounded like it knew him. It whispered words of comfort, of fortitude, of strength. But they weren't enough against this formless, seemless enemy that struck at him through every pore of his body, through the blood-red liquid which even now he thrashed about in helpless fury. He needed help.

 _I will protect you._

The thought came unbidden to him. He needed assistance; it had come in the form of that thought, that and the sudden rush of energy that welled up within him. He reached down into it, reached down deep, deeper than he'd ever gone before…

The situation was going from bad to worse. All Units were now functionally inoperative, comm systems down, and not responding to any external stimuli at all. Cutting the nerve connections wouldn't do; even the dummy plug was suicidal in such a situation. There was no telling what would happen with all the At Field's apparently connected in some way. She sighed heavily and took any report from Maya's hands, trying to ignore the massive mound of it that seemed to grow by the second. They had no other ground or air forces to throw away. N2 Bombs would be next to useless against the massive fused AT Field thrown up by both the Harbinger and Unit-01. All she and Katsuragi-ichii could do was wait.

Wait, and count the display that edged slowly up, the orange red numerals which seemed to mock them by their steady increase.

415%, 426%, 441%…

Shin-chan was in there. There, in that, that…monster. It was too late to question what they had done, or weep for things past. Now was the time for action.

But what action? She stared helplessly at Ritsuko's worried face, the NERV techs horrified expressions, and the near emotionless face of the Commander. At and her own tear-stained and sweat soaked one, reflected by the now silent screen. There was nothing she could do.

Except hope. And pray for him.

Ikari-kun. Now is the time.

I open my mind to him. I can only hope he understands what is there.

Shinji's screaming. His *screaming*. She couldn't believe she didn't notice the similarity before. Maybe it was the way the AT Fields of all the Units were steadily merging into one, creating enhanced synchronicity, but she should have heard it before. She had blocked it out, but now with the gradual complementation of all the Units, she could see, no, practically feel Shinji's emotions.

Like a lost child. Like a child that had lost it's mother. Like her, before.

His scream, with it's slightly higher pitch than most males, sounded just like her mother's.

No one would ever know, here in the EVA. Her secret was still safe. And she could help.

She steeled herself and threw her whole being, mind and soul, into the projection of her Field. The tear was lost in the LCL.

His mother was with him. So was Rei. So was Asuka. And in some inexplicable way, so was Misato. He couldn't believe how good that made him feel. He had reached the deepest reserves of himself, and liked what he found there.

He had found the door to the room, finally.

Bonds. So that was what she meant. She had tried to say it with her eyes, and now he knew. Bonds to all people. Bonds to all things. She had done more than protect him; she had freed him. The power began to build within him, singing a paean of strength to the innermost, untapped parts of him. He let it grow and sought further.

He embraced the rage, felt it become part of him, felt it link itself back to the part of him where he himself had torn it forth years ago. He thought of his friends, of the people in Tokyo-3, living in fear of yet another Angel attack, and found strength there. He had to fight. For himself. For everyone. How he knew this, he did not bother to question. He knew, and that was enough for now.

Power. Strength. Understanding. He stood united in all three, in the very apex of all the Children's power. It sang even higher with each passing second.

He faced the Angel once again as it's eyes glowed.

Their plans were crumbling around them. The HCP did not seem so grand or world-sweeping a proposition now, with all available Units lost and doom staring them in the eye. Or eyes. Evangelion Unit-01 and the Harbinger, gazes locked as both synchronization and AT Field levels continued to skyrocket. She had long since ceased to notice that the other pilot's synch ratings were starting to climb. It was an inconsequential detail; like her colleague, Misato, closing her eyes and praying audibly, or her protégé, Maya, head slumped on her desk. It mattered not.

Because the Third Impact was starting before her. With this much power, (over 500% and rising, her mind noted mechanically) they didn't need the Spear or Lilith. Or Shinji might just oblige his opponent and turn into an Angel; he certainly had the synch rate to do it.

But in it all she found the something she'd discarded a long time ago. Pity. Not for herself; that was dead and buried long ago. But no, pity for a young defenseless boy with the fate of the world on his shoulders.

So it was against herself that she clasped hands and muttered a soft "Shinji…good luck". But then again, maybe it wasn't.

His son was going to die. He was supposed to feel remorse, but felt none. Only regret. That was a start.

"Shinji." He could say no more. There was a need, but one unfulfilled.

He felt everyone, and the power peaked, blossoming into a phoenix that cried out in indescribable beauty even as it dissipated against the flaming sky.

He smiled.

Demon-winged against angel-winged, the two titans faced each other. It looked for all the world as if the apocalypse had come, with the sky tinged red and the earth scorched black by the flaring AT Fields. Nearby, Units 00 and 02 sat dormant, a slight flicker of lighting sparking sporadically on each mecha's surface the only sign of movement.

They stared, baleful yellow against glowing white, bloody knife held against shining sword. And then it began.

There had been many fights on Earth before this. They had been for power, for things, for material wants. Sometimes, they had been for loftier ideals, for peace, for love. None fought before had such a prize at stake. The world hung in the balance, but also something infinitely more precious. A human soul.

With an inarticulate cry of rage, Evangelion Unit 1 sprang forward to deliver a vicious knife stroke to the Angel, ripping away the outer armor and spilling green ichor to the ground. The sword struck again in retaliation, leaving the Unit with but one arm remaining, blood spurting from the ragged stump. They yellow eyes glowed, but the arm did not heal. Another furious exchange left Unit 1 with savage lacerations across his chest, and the Harbinger with one eye and a torn wing. Silence as both circled each other. There was to be no quarter given; none asked. Only the most worthy would walk away.

 _Show us, human. Show us._

The knife snaked out, only to be knocked away. Stalemate. Wings stretched further, positions changed. Eyes locked.

 _We are with you._

He struck. One blow was all it took, and the sword was sent spinning away. Then fierce, primal nature took over, and the Angel became in prey. With almost sadistic glee, Unit 1 set to work on the Harbinger, ripping apart armor and flesh alike in an ecstasy of war. One arms was torn off even as a ear-shattering, unearthly howl split the air, then a leg, blood spewing from the ruptured opening. The armor was tossed, crimson-stained and broken, to the ground. Another strike, and more blood flowed. Again. And again.

Within, another battle raged again, and beast fought man for control.

Rei. Asuka. Misato. He felt them all, even Ritsuko, even his father, even strangely, Fuyutsuki. There were other feelings, too, but those rose to the fore, bonding with him, freeing him. He was fighting for them. For their bonds to him.

A final stroke, and all was silent.

The EVA straddled the Angel, blood-stained arms raised high, it's own eyes glowing strangely. Before it, sitting in a ripped and torn chest cavity, was the red orb that was an Angel's heart. Victory was in it's grasp. It reared back a last time, howling it's triumph into the empty air. It tensed to strike, arms poised to deliver the coup de grace. The blow came down.

Both eyes met in a final stare.

Slowly, he lowered his arms and bowed his head, for the first time aware of how close he had come. He was back. Something very like a sigh escaped the EVA's mouth.

The wind soughed around the fallen Angel. He was back.

And he knew now that he would never be alone.

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